The Shift
by Hutcchy
Summary: One boy faced hardship based on just appearance, the other for entirely different reasons. Magical creatures have a grudge against humanity for using its resources and are fighting. Gilbert and Arthur are just along fro the ride, getting dragged into situations whether they want to or not.
1. Chapter 1

**While I am waiting for the next chapter of my other story to be checked, I have been playing around with this idea. This one hasn't been checked by anyone other than me with my crappy grammar, so sorry.**

**Any way I hope you like it and I'm not completely sure where to go with this yet**

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"Demon!"

Familiar cries and shouts were shot at the boy as he continued to run through the woods. His frail legs working hard, despite the burning in his muscles that begged him to stop.

He couldn't stop, the last beaten he barley escaped alive, he couldn't take it again. So he ran.

As soon as the cry escaped one of those he had hidden from, one of the townspeople, he ran. He had grown up hiding from most, mainly to protect himself and his brother.

People don't understand those that are different, and in this old fashioned town, different meant dangerous. From a young age the boy had learnt this and tried to stay out of sight for safety.

Of course he stayed with his brother and their guardian, they didn't care about his uniqueness, but he had to protect them. It was a hard life, but he chose to live on the outskirts of the town so that no one could associate him with ones that he held dear. If they were connected to him, they would suffer as well, these towns people were not above hurting them.

"Demon!"

The shouts sounded closer than they did before causing his panic to increase. Gritting his teeth, the boy pushed himself to run even faster.

Ducking under every low branch, hoping over all the upturned roots, the boy had the upper hand when maneuvering through these woods. He knew it almost like the back of his hand, alas those in pursuit of him were bigger. For every two of his strides it took them one.

He may have the advantage at knowing the forest, but his youth and lithe frame was his downfall.

A startled cry escaped the boy as a chain was thrown at his feet, locking them together. He fell to the hard ground beneath him with a loud thump which seemed to resonate through out the forest.

Terrified crimson eyes fixed onto those that were approaching, they were all armed. None of these men saw this boy as for what he actually was, they only saw a monster, a demon.

The boy gulped, this was it, this was the end. For all of his life he was told that he shouldn't be alive by those that were about to fix it.

He had barley lived, he survived, yet it was coming to an end. His pitiful existence was going to be eradicated, yet he didn't want it to. He wanted to live, he wanted a life that normal people had. A life that his guardian always told him that he was entitled to, but never had.

At the age of ten, his life was coming to an end, but he didn't want it to. He was stubborn, a fighter and if he was going to go down, he wasn't going to show fear.

As if someone had flicked a switch, the crimson eyed boy stopped scrambling away and calmed. The change in demeanor worried the superstitious men, to them, this demon was planning something.

"What have you done demon, confess before we end you?" The bravest of the mob, or possible the most stupid, of the men stepped forward. Everything about the man was dull, ordinary, just like everyone else in the town, he blended in with the others.

He stood with his rifle held steady between the child's demon like eyes, that he couldn't bring himself to look directly into.

"I have done nothing but exist." the child spoke smoothly, not like someone should at his age.

The remark seem to spike some rage amongst the group if men as the aimed their growl like remarks at the child. "You are a demon, you have no right to exist. You, who takes out your anger of your very existence on our town. You are a murderer that has taken the lives of many!"

The same man spoke, his finger teasing on the trigger. It sounded automatic though, as if that wasn't his actual thoughts. Words that he was made to believe.

"No, I have done nothing, it was a sickness!" the boy snapped, he wasn't going to be blamed for something he had nothing to do with.

"You are the sickness!" The man growled, those behind him nodded in agreement.

Hurt flashed the boys face, he had been called many things, but never a sickness. They actually believed that he killed all those innocent people, what for, what would he gain from it?

"You can't say anything, you know it to be true." The man said with a sense of finality as he placed his finger on the trigger.

"You people are truly ignorant to those of the other kind." A new voice floated around them, one that was foreign to these parts.

The group of men quickly aimed their weapons to the sky, their eyes darting amongst the trees. Taking the opportunity of the men aiming to kill him being distracted, the crimson eyed boy worked on freeing his feet from the chains.

"For one, demons can not be killed by a mere gun, they would also have fought back. If you were dealing with a demon, you would have been killed before the bullet even left the barrel.

"Furthermore, it is a sickness that is killing your people caused by a virus. You all living in a cramped church in attempt to stay from a 'demon' and safety in numbers, but all you have succeeded in spreading it. Your town is behind times a bit."

The men's confusion quickly turned into anger once they realised that they were being insulted by a stranger none the less.

"Who are you? What gives you the right to say such things?" One of the men yelled to the green canopy above them.

"What gives you the right to end a boys life based on appearance?" The voice sounded closer than it was before, very close. " My name is Arthur by the way."

The men whipped round finding the voice was coming behind them, only to find to find another child.

The blonde haired child bowed to the men, his sandy blonde hair fell over his bright emerald eyes. They sparkled with some sort of mischief which only hid something dark.

"What are you, why are you defending this demon?" A confused townsman now aimed his weapon at the new arrival, not trusting those abnormally green eyes.

The new boy rolled his eyes, and folded his arms. He tilted his head by a fraction so that he could see the snowy haired boy who had freed his feet, before looking back to the men in front of him.

"Was you not listening to what I said earlier, this boy is not a demon. He is clearly scared for his life, which a demon wouldn't be as they wouldn't stand for such treatment. They would also be smart enough to hide their identity until it was too late for you."

The new boy grinned wickedly, shadows covering his eyes. The temperature seemed to suddenly drop, sending shivers down all those presents spines.

All the men that didn't have their weapon trained on the blonde changed their target, leaving the crimson boy free.

"How do you know his, why do you care what happens to this boy?" A new man spoke up.

"Ah, so you agree that he is a boy, not a demon, they are two different things after all. You can also say that it is a personal matter, now will you leave the boy be?"

These men were furious, they were being questioned by a child, he spoke to them as if they were the children. The nerve.

"No, this child is a demon, he deserves to die. You will be following closely behind him." The first man said coldly turning his attention back to the child who was silently backing away, but froze when he became centre of attention again.

"Shame that you insist on calling him a demon, would you like me to show you what a demon actually looks like?"

The child laughed darkly, his voice sounding like thunder. The men turned their attention back stranger, only to pale at the sight.

Those emerald eyes were replaced with green flames that burned into a man's very soul. His teeth became jagged, like knives. Large bat like wings were outstretched behind him, a thin black tail swayed by his feet that had a point on the end. His skin was completely covered in a black smoke, if it wasn't for the light reflecting from the moon onto him, he would have disappeared into the shadows.

The monster grinned, his teeth on full display. He then licked his lips and lurched forward causing the terrified men to scatter. All but one that fired at the thing.

The demon only chuckled as the bullet disappeared into its shoulder. "I told you that your weapons were useless against something of my kind. Now I am in a forgiving mood, as long as you stop mistaking this boy as one of us and leave him be, I won't devour your soul. It is an insult really, to think you thought that he was a demon. Now go!"

The demon shouted, his yell holding enough force to nearly knock the men over. Not wanting to face the wrath of a demon, the townspeople ran.

The crimson eyed boy stayed though. He didn't know if it was out of fear, but something told him to stay. And he did.

He stayed and witnessed the shadowy child fall to his knees, cradling his injured shoulder. The boy inched closer to the dark figure despite all his instincts that screamed at him to run.

The closer he got though, the quieter the warning became, the louder the cries from the 'demon' were.

"A-a-are you ok?" the sliver haired boy asked as he bent down so he was at eye level to the 'demon'. He almost fell back when the others head suddenly popped up, the fiery irises were now replaced the the abnormal emeralds of earlier.

"W-why are you still here?" The cool tone which the boy spoke in earlier has gone, replaced with one that actually suited his age. The demon child looked up to the other questioningly, ever on guard.

"You are crying?" the crimson eyed boy was confused, this boy was a demon, but here he was crying. He wasn't aware that demons could hold any other feelings other than rage or lust, yet here was one crying.

The demon sniffed and rubbed his eyes with the ball of his palms, but winced at the movement. He then resumed to cradling his shoulder, trying to avoid all eye contact with the other.

"It hurts, your arm? I thought you said guns couldn't hurt demons?" The white haired boy watched the other in a mixture of confusion and awe as the smoke faded away revealing how pale he was, not as much as the crimson eyed boy. The wings slowly melted away as well, his teeth reverting back to normal except for the canines.

"I said it wouldn't kill a demon, and I am not one. I am a Shift."

A shift? He had heard of the name before, it was short for shape-shifter, or form changer. It had been many years though and most thought of them extinct. Hardly anything was known about them, but they were known to be extremely powerful making them dangerous.

They wasn't actually a race though, you couldn't breed two Shifts together to make another. It was random, the magic of the land chose them and they came to be. But the land was thought to have nearly died a long time ago, which is why most magical creatures hated humans for what they have done.

Yet this child claim to be one, and the other believed him. He did just take the shape of a demon to save the other boy, but why?

"You need help then, I know someone who can."

The injured Shift looked up to the other, confusion showing through the haze the pain had causes. "Why are you helping me, most people either head for the hill or tried to have killed me by now. You're one of those that try and extract my magic aren't you and try to use it for your own selfish gain!?"

The Shift accused, as he began to stand. Hoping not to scare the other and understanding slightly why the Shift had helped him; both of them had faced hardships from being different, the boy gently placed a hand on the Shift's uninjured shoulder.

"You helped me, so I am going to help you, Arthur was it? I don't like owing people, so they can try black mail me for it later. Name is Gilbert, but you can call me Gil."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Gilbert brought Arthur back to his guardian Frederick's house, the older man was shocked. His charge had some how managed to befriend the rarest creature left on the planet, a creature that had appeared to have given Gilbert a future.

His brother, Ludwig, didn't seem to trust the Shift, but aided his caretaker in treating him. It probably didn't help that he still had some demon like features, as sometimes it took Arthur a while to revert back to normal. The younger brother had much practice in caring for Gilbert in the past due to his appearance.

After a couple of days the boy was healed and intended to leave, thanking the family greatly, but was stopped by the Albino. Gilbert insisted that the boy should stay at least another week as there was no way he could have healed so quickly, even though Arthur told Gilbert that it was normal for him heal so quick, the other would have none of it.

So he stayed for a week, which then turned into a month, to more. No one was sure how it happened but Arthur became sort like a part of the family. Of course he could never leave the house in his normal form as the towns people will recognise him, so often took form of a small chick that sat on Gilbert's head.

Arthur even went to school with the albino; now that he wasn't being shunned by the whole town and was allowed to, but in the form of a bird. Both Arthur and Gilbert were able to get the education which they wasn't really able to before. (though Arthur couldn't actually sit any exams at the school, he was able to do online courses)

Gilbert had been taught many things by Fredrick, or Old Fritz and Arthur had read many book in his travels, but neither of them had a proper schooling.

Before anyone knew it, 8 years had passed and Gilbert wanted to get an education outside of Germany. This leading the duo to Canada where Gilbert studied to be an engineer and Arthur taking a mixture of different courses whilst working at the cafe near Gilbert's university.

Whilst studying, Gilbert was given an accommodation on site, somehow Arthur was able to live with him. Gilbert had no doubt that it was because of Arthur's abilities, he most likely took on the appearance of someone high up and okayed it.

That was also probably why Arthur changed every time someone knocked on the door, making it look like only one person lived there if it was ever queried. It probably was some sort of crime but considering how the planet was currently being run, it was about the equivalent of walking on freshly laid grass.

Not that Gilbert would complain, he quite liked Arthur curling up beside him as a cat or a dog, depending on his mood. It was a nice was to get some extra body heat.

Arthur could have used his skills to get his own place, but didn't want to. The Shift may seem confident, but was afraid to be away from the albino. He would say that it was fear that Gilbert would reveal to everyone what he was, but really it was that he had simply just grown attached to the other. He didn't need much space anyway, being a Shift and all.

Gilbert had invented a knock so the Shift knew it was him, if he forgot his keys. A different knock was made for any one else, Gilbert's friends Antonio and Francis or Arthur's Lucas and his cousin Mathias.

Gilbert meet his friends at his university, when he was given the tour but were studying different things. Arthur had met Lucas at the cafe as he frequently went there, his cousin often picking him up and teased the Shift.

It took a long time before they could trust any of them, but once they did, the pair finally started to relax having been put on edge since they moved.

It was only then that the pair felt as if they had been truly accepted, as most of the town people still thought Gilbert as a demon, but let him take part out of fear. Arthur was a bird or another animal for the most part, so this was a huge step for him.

He didn't really care that Gilbert's friends were loud, as well as Lucas' Danish cousin, or that they some times teased his eyebrows. He felt at home knowing that these people wasn't scared of him, but then they didn't know.

No one other than Gilbert's family and his own really knew what he was, some knew that he was different, but that was it. Did he want others to know?

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**There we go, I have this very lose plot idea for this and others will make an appearance, not sure at pairings, I can't tight romance, most of my relationships turn into strong bromances.**

**I don't own Hetalia by the way and review and stuff if you like.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi**

**There will be mistakes as Rosey hasn't checked this, I am also trying to rely on her less to correct things for me. It is making me a lazy writer. I also like to surprise her with things I haven't shown her as she said she can't find things t read.**

**Any way, some people do know what Arthur is but how they find out will be revealed later...**

**That's it I think.**

**I don't own Hetalia**

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"I don't know what that says. As you can see, I run a fucking restaurant with my fratello, I don't know why you think I would know what it says. Stupido bastard."

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, its just that this is where the map originated, so thought someone might know,eh."

"You're the fucking Canadian here, if anything, you should know what it says. Feli! Table 8 needs cleaning, that potato bastard that you like so much reserved it for fuck knows what!"

"Ve, ok fratello. What is it they want?"

"Want me to translate something, but I know shit and I'm too busy. You, get your fratello to stop harassing my employees for hamburgers, we do not serve them here... Uno momento, I may know someone who can sort of help you."

The feisty Italian walked away from the counter he was leaning on, shouting something to his brother before disappearing upstairs. The Canadian scanned to cosy Italian themed restaurant, sighing when his eyes landed on his brother. He was currently talking to someone who looked alot like the brothers that owned the place; maybe a cousin, not seeming to understand that they didn't have an American menu.

They had been sailing for months, which now a days was hazardous and was in a good need of rest. They had been following clues on a manuscript that their grandfather had given them. Matthew had managed to solve the riddle hidden in it, leading them to find the map.

Now they had hit a dead end, if they wasn't able to translate this clue and move on, they would loose their funding. This was their chance to improve the world, they couldn't give up now.

"Oi, I got someone that may be able to help you and you just stare into space like an idiota."

Snapping the Canadian out of his thoughts, Lovinio huffed at the stranger. Besides him, Antonio was smiling, humming a song to himself. He wasn't quite sure why the Spaniard was in such a good mood, but to be honest, he didn't really care. As long as this got the man away from him, the Spanish man could be smile at a brick wall.

"Si, Lovi said that you were looking for someone to translate something, the best person to ask would be Arthur. I will take you to him, I need to deliver something to his partner's shop, a special type of oil I think."

"P-partner?"

"Not like that stupido, why does everyone always jump to conclusions like that?"

"They do act sort of like a couple, but si, everyone always jumps to that conclusion."

"Fuckers have been together for what 12 years, no wonder that yaoi crazed woman won't leave them alone. Honestly don't know what she sees in gay couples, I have nothing against it, but the crazed woman keeps pairing everyone."

"Ah Lizzy, I don't think she can help it Lovi seeing as nearly everyone else in the world is against it, except almost everyone in this village."

"Ahem, s-sorry to interrupt you, but you were talking about a person named Arthur?" Matthew coughed into his hand.

Unfortunately he was used to this happening often him, but he really needed to know what these words said. He felt a bit stupid though for not realising that the man meant business partners, hardly anyone used that phrase anymore.

"Lo siento, I will take you to him, follow me." The Spaniard jumped at the cough, looking a bit sheepish before he grabbed hold of the shocked Canadian's wrist and dragged him out the door.

Olive eyes sparkled in amusement as Lovino watched Antonio leave his restaurant and a confused American running after them.

"Hey dude! What you doing dragging away my bro?" A fairly tall teenager stormed out of the restaurant. Like his brother, he had blonde hair, though short and had a cowlick rather than a curl. He also wore glasses but he had bright blue eyes, whereas his brother had lilac. Both of them were fairly broad and covers in small bruises and scars from travelling the seas.

Upon hearing the shout, the green eyed man came to a halt releasing the younger man's wrist. He ruffled his already ruffled brown hair, looking somewhat confused. He looked to the Canadian then to the American, smiling wildly when he made the connection.

"Oh you are hermanos (brothers)? Silly me, come this way." Antonio grinned even wider as he grabbed hold of both brothers' wrists and marched them to the shop by the port.

"Hey dude, what's going on? Mattie, where are we going?"

Antonio had to struggle not to laugh, he loved playing around with new faces. It was some sort of sadistic pleasure he got, but was one of the most helpful people in town, that is, once he was sure they could be trusted enough.

"I am taking you to Gils, that is where Arturo usually is."

"Arturo?"

"Oh, si, Arthur, that is his name in my language."

"Seriously Mattie, where are we going? Why do we need to see this Arthur dude?"

"He might be able to translate something on the map, Alfred, Mr .., sorry I didn't get your name?"

"Soy Antonio, how rude of me not to tell you earlier, Alfred and Mattie? Is that another name for Matthew?"

"Yeah dude, that's right, but who is this Arthur?

"We'll find out when we meet him Al, calm down. Sorry Antonio, thank you for taking us with you, seeing as we are strangers after all."

"So polite, make sure you keep that up when you meet Arthur, it gets you in his good book. Gil, not so much. He like anyone as long as they don't insult any of his amigos."

"Is that his business partner eh?"

"Si, Gilbert and Arthur moved her just over four years ago from Germany. Gilbert runs the workshop on the port, he is gifted with machinery and Arthur manages it."

The Spaniard picked up his pace as he turned round the corner, nearing the workshop. His excitement of seeing his friend momentarily taken over.

"Workshop, maybe the dude could fix our ship. There were a load of creeps around the port that said they could do it, but I don't trust them."

Antonio slowed down again, becoming thoughtful. He hated those people that tried to con others, they ruined the town. This town was a rare find in today's world, it was mostly peaceful.

Antonio loved this town and one day wished to be in charge of making it better. He tried to make sure that everyone was happy, that they all got help. If one was to rule the people, they should know them. It was also part of his job as Mayor's assistant to provide feedback as to what was happening.

"Si, they are the best people to go to, Gil can fix and build almost anything and Arthur knows how to make sure that everything stays to your budget, so no surprises.

"Oh, nearly there. Word of warning to you, Gilbert is an albino but not the normal kind. He doesn't have pink eyes, they are more reddy purple. Don't say anything about it if you want any help."

The Spaniard smiled before coming to a stop outside what looked like an old airplane hangar that had been converted into a shop. The Spanish man felt pride swell in his chest as he looked at the awe on the teens faces.

"Arthur found this place and told Gil. We spent a lot if our time in between our studies to try and fix this place up, Arturo and Gil doing most of it. The mayor had no qualms with them keeping it, turning it into a shop and a home. Nice to have labourers that you can trust in a town, si?"

The teens nodded, not really knowing what to say. Neither had seen such a thing, there were only commercial planes now a days that had stealth modes installed into them. Hardly anyone saw a plane unless you were flying one, but this hangar was old and in excellent condition.

You could see that it had been customised as the high roof above the door had been turned into a second floor, probably where the men lived. The interior also looked like an ordinary hardware shop, a desk at the back with a clear view if the shop floor. The large metal doors had been replaced with bullet proof glass, allowing natural light to fill in.

Hesitantly, the boys followed their tour guide in, taking their time to search the shops wares.

Automatically, Antonio waltz up to the shop counter only to meet his brother. Joao looked alot like his brother,only that he was taller. His hair a bit longer and he had blue eyes instead of green.

"Just dropping off Arthur new book, it came in today." the older said as he was on his way out. " You coming round for dinner tonight? Mama said that we were meant to be coming together for a family dinner, I was on my way when I remembered the book."

Antonio nodded his head, finally remembering what he was meant to be doing today. He would head straight over to his families house once he was finished here.

"Si, I'm coming just needed to give something to Gil and these travellers need Arturo's help with something."

"See you soon then. You just missed Arthur though, Gil sent him to get something for him."

"Gracias." Antonio watched as his brother left the shop, giving the Spaniard a lazy wave as he left. It wasn't unusual for his brother to be here as he would often drop books off for Arthur, having grown quite close to the blonde.

A lot of people dropped into the shop like any other in the town, so it wasn't unlikely that you would bump into someone.

"Gilbert, where are you amigo?" Antonio called, leaning on the counter looking over it for a mop of white hair.

"Oh Toni, your bruder was just here. Hang on." There was the sound of clanging metal and stuff falling over, which got louder and was accompanied with German grumbles.

A few seconds passed before a white haired man stumbled through the side door and over to the counter.

He was wearing an old pair of jeans covered in grease stains, his once white t-shirt matching. He took off his working gloves and deposited them on the counter, before looking up to his tanned friend smiling.

"Sup Toni, what brings you to bask in mein awesomeness?" It was then that a small yellow bird landed on the albino's head, making a noise which sounded very close to a snort.

Antonio eyed the bird for a few seconds before raising eyebrow at his friend. "What were you doing amigo, that was a lot of noise?"

"Was? Oh ja, I was just organising all mein tools. They were sort of balanced on top of each other while I was organising, then you called me and it appeared I got up too quickly. So unawesone, made a big mess. I will have to get the Limey to help me."

The bird chirped again and rolled its eyes, while Gilbert chuckled. The bird didn't seem to appreciate the laugh and peaked the albino's head.

"Ow"

"Ah we need Arturo actually, its one of the reasons I came here."

"The limey?" The albino looked up from his spot on the counter, momentarily halting rubbing his sore head. He glanced upwards to bird that was currently perched there, when the bird took off, his gaze fell back onto Antonio.

" You don't need to see him, but they do, ja? Come tell old Gilbert what you need Mr Grumpy pants for."

The red eyed man smirked when he caused the two teens to jump at being addressed. The quieter of the two blushed, seemingly embarrassed at being caught gawking at the shop. He was about to answer when the other beat him to it.

"Need him to translate something, you didn't say that he was grumpy though dude, bet he won't wanna do it."

"Al!?"

"Don't go judging people before you have already met them, amigo. He is not _always _grumpy, and why would I need to tell you something like that?"

The Spaniard warned, he was very protective of the people in this town and wasn't going to let outsiders judge them.

Picking up on the mild hostility in the tanned man's tone, Matthew placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and stepped forward. He gave the man; that his brother had apparently insulted, an apologetic smile.

"I'm sure he is a very kind man considering how highly you spoke of him."

"Kesese, no worries. Please talk like that though to him, his reaction will be awesome."

"W-why?"

"He gets all flustered when complimented, its so awesome. Thinks I'm taking the piss if the awesome me does it though.

"Wait a sec, I'll call him. Toni did the right thing bring you here, cause our shop is awesome and Arthur knows a fick load of languages."

The albino didn't wait any longer before he turned around, giving Antonio a wink before he left. There was a few clangs as the albino tip toed around the the equipment on the floor, cringing at the mess, before he stopped in a doorway.

He purposely left the door open which lead to the stairs, and leant casually on the doorframe. The two brothers were a bit confused as to why he stopped, when he said he was going to get their translator, but quickly found out why.

"BIRDIE! SOME PEOPLE ARE HERE TO SEE YOU!"

"Don't they have some bell or phone to call each other, jez?"

The Spaniard smiled to himself, trying not to laugh at the show the pair put on for new people. It was like a rule that all new people had to be teased.

"THAT'S NOT MY NAME!"

"The Dude's British?"

"Si, from Inglaterra if you want to be technical. Just because I said he came from Germany before, does not mean he is German."

"How long was he in Germany for, his accent is pretty strong eh?"

"THEY WANT YOU TO TRANSLATE SOMETHING LIMEY."

"MY NAME ISN'T LIMEY EITHER YOU TWIT. WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP COMING TO SEE ME, I'M TRYING TO DO THE BALANCING. IT WOULD BE BETTER BUSINESS IF THEY CAME TO SEE YOU INSTEAD."

"According to Gil, 12 years. Arturo met him at the age of 10 I think, how his accent stayed intact is a mystery. I think they stopped in England for a month or so, but that's about it."

"HEY, I SOLD SOME STUFF TODAY AND JUST FINISHED REPAIRING THE LAST SHIP. JUST GET DOWN HERE."

"...Fine."

The albino smirked, and spun around on the balls of his feet and walked back to the counter, picking up the equipment off the floor on the way. He plonked the things on the counter, sorting through a few gears before holding one up with a victorious look on his face.

"Been looking for this since last week, Lovino's antique clock has a gear missing, that why it doesn't chime. These gears were all organised, but you know the scuffle we ran into a few weeks ago, they sort of messed up my organization. So unawesome, I'm still putting everything back to where it was.

"Any way, if you tell the Italian I can fix the clock if he wants me to. You never know, he might hate the noise it makes and will probably throw the clock at mein bruder. Kesesesese."

The Spaniard nodded and made a mental note to tell Lovino, but was mainly distracted by the 'scuffle' that Gilbert had talked about. Although this town was pretty safe, one of the safest, the magical creatures that had a grudge against humanity, still attacked. There were dangerous people still, some times more so that the mythical creatures, but Mathias pretty much had that covered as well as his force.

It was an ogre that tore into the shop and caused lots of damage, and it was Arthur who stopped it. He got injured in the process, but hardly any knew that. Most thought that he simply got caught up in the attack. Not that he his Shift abilities to take on the strength of a giant, but still stayed looking the same and kicked the ogre out.

Only 7 people in the town knew what Arthur was in the town, Arthur, Gilbert and his brother included. Hopefully, it would stay that way.

"Ludwig does seem to anger Lovi for some reason." He said thoughtfully, acting as if everything was normal to these outsider, which to them it was.

The American didn't appeared fussed at all and stared at the albino in both respect and awe.

"Dude, did you know what the clock needed just by looking at it, that is kick ass?"

"Ja, I am just that awesome." he said smugly, twirling the gear between his pale fingers.

"Please Gilbert, must you insist in using that word for everything? I know for certain you know more words than that."

The two brothers looked up so quickly that they could have got whiplash. Walking in a casual manner to the albino, was a slim blonde.

He was wearing black slacks and a blue striped shirt with his sleeves rolled up. On his forehead was a set of bandages that covered his abnormally large eyebrows (the bandages were there mainly just for show, a normal person wouldn't have healed yet) but disappeared in his shaggy hair.

On top of his head was a pair of reading glasses, which he lowered over his emerald eyes as he peered at the new comers.

"Afternoon gentlemen, my name is Arthur and how may I be of help to you?"slightly taken back being addressed in such a manner, the brothers stared at the Brit for a few seconds, struggling to find words.

The German grinned at the silence finding it amusing. Antonio lazily examined the room, his eyes widening when they landed on the clock.

"Arturo it was nice to see you and you Gil, but I need to be going." He said apologetically, placing the oil he was asked to bring over on the side, before waving and leaving the shop.

"See you later tonight Toni."

"Adios Anthony."

"Its Antonio."

"Well its Arthur, not Arturo."

The Spaniard left the shop not looking back, but with a smile on his face knowing that it annoyed the Englishman. "Git" the Brit mumbled, before looking back to the brothers.

"Sorry, what did you need?" He asked politely, feeling slightly bad that he sort of ignored his customers.

The American didn't seem to care at all, and was mainly focusing on the bandages the Englishman was wearing. Beside him, his brother jumped and started rummaging through his bag.

Gilbert's eyes drifted over to Arthur, he would leave the organising until these two had gone. He knew his friend could handle himself, it was mainly curiosity that caused him to stay.

"What happened to ya head?" Arthur blinked in surprise at the question, having not expected it.

Matthew turned red in embarrassment , not really wanting to take out the map, whilst Alfred just stood innocently waiting for an answer.

"Gott, that was blunt."

"I don't see how that is any of your business, but if you must know, we had an ogre problem a little while back. Now do you actually need me for anything, or just going to keep me from doing work?"

"No need ta be-" Alfred was silenced when a hand was placed over his mouth. Matthew stepped forward, holding the map firmly in his other hand and smiled politely.

"We are looking for someone who can translate something on this map. Antonio seem to think very highly of you, but if you are busy, would it be better if we could come back another time, eh?"

Immediately, Gilbert's eyes fell onto his friend, excited by what he knew was coming. Almost instantly, Arthur's cheeks turned pink. His eyes going wide before they started to dart all over, not making eye contact.

"O-oh no, i-its no problem. I can do it now if you don't mind waiting . Er, not that I'm doing this for you, I-I'm just interested in what it is you have got."

Both brothers stared at the Englishman, confused about the sudden personality change. Judging by the Albino's face, it wasn't something unordinary, it was expected. He also enjoyed the reaction by the look of it.

"kesesese, you got him all flustered and you didn't even compliment him, not really. Awesome." Gilbert whispered to the Canadian as he lent over the counter, apparently Arthur was too flustered to realise that he was being talked about.

The Canadian gave the German a calculating look, his lilac eyes then drifting to the Englishman. He wasn't joking when he said that Arthur gets flustered and understood why he found it funny.

Apparently Alfred was oblivious to the Englishman's change, or was just throwing the man a line, and acted normally. Matthew knew that his brother was in fact helping the man out, his hero instincts kicking in. Yes, his brother was oblivious quite often, but always knew when he needed to help someone out.

"Ah cool dude, we got like nothing to do, so if you could do it now, that be great. Also dude, that Toni guy said you fix ships, could you give us a quote to fix ours. It got a bit smashed up but this fucking giant squid."

"Squid? Not been one of those here before, well since we have been here. But ja, I can look it over. I can give you an estimate, but I will have to talk all the details over with Limey to give you a definite one."

Slipping into work mode, Gilbert stood up straight, much like a soldier. He came across as a professional, even despite his casual way of speaking.

Arthur regained his composure, glancing to his crimson eyed friend, a barely there smile tugging his lips. In contrast to Gilbert, Arthur relaxed his posture when speaking to a customer. It made him more approachable, to those who didn't know him anyway.

"Yeah, it was a big ass one, got its slimy tentacles on our little beauty. Thought we were done for, when this random sea Serpent appeared and fought it off before we got close to port. Ahaha, didn't think they would fight each other.

"Yeah dude, that would be great. Don't really think we can set off with out our ship being fixed. Its dangerous to sail anywhere as it is let alone in a banged up ship."

The American offered Gilbert a dazzling smile, which the albino returned after he gave the Shift an accusing look. Arthur ignored this, but did look proud of himself.

"Ja, I can have a look at it now if you want to, while Arthur translated that map thing. Got some time before I meet mein bruder."

"Awh dude, that would be awesome."

"Exactly, I am awesome and everything I do is awesome." he said with a smirk, before hopping over the counter.

"Birdie?" Gilbert then asked, looking somewhat sheepish and cheeky at the Briton. The Englishman simply rolled his eyes and waved the man off.

"I will contact you when it comes closer to the time you need to see your brother, so you can get changed. I'll put your COM on charge as well, someone will probably need to contact you when you are out."

The Englishman pointed at the small device on the German's forearm, which screen had turned off. Following the others finger, Gilbert looked down at his COM and shook his head, taking the device off, he then threw it to his partner.

Arthur caught the device easily, and turned his attention to the teen in front of him, rather than watching the two that said their goodbyes and left. Disappearing momentarily, Arthur plugged in the COM under the counter. When he came back up, Matthew had laid the map out on the countertop.

Fishing around in his pocket, Arthur pulled out a small note pad and picked up one of the pens by the till. He scribbled a little bit in the corner of the pad, before looking up to the anxious teen.

"So you found this map here, but you don't know what it is of. Bit difficult to tell which country just by looking at it, some place mountainous. Doesn't really narrow it down though does it?"

The green eyed man looked up from the map, offering the Canadian a small smile. Matthew found himself looking down at the map, then the list of all the possible places it could be. It was a pretty long list.

"Yeah, I never realised how many mountains there are until I started searching." Agreeing, Matthew nodded his head, he spoke mainly to himself, but the other heard none the less.

Arthur hummed as scanned the piece of parchment and shifted his weight so he was in a more comfortable position to write. Emerald eyes flicked back and forth as he translated the map, scribbling away as he did so.

Waiting patiently and feeling slightly awkward, Matthew watched the Briton's hand glide across his note pad. Not wanting to be rude, the teen decided to wait until the man was finished before reading it.

Little time had passed when Arthur came to a stop. He let out a breath, satisfied with he work he looked up the Canadian.

"You need to go to New Zealand, what you seek is apparently in the heart of the tallest mountain. There were a lot of riddles, but I thought that I'd save you the time and solve it for you. I have written down what it said, incase I missed something that may be of importance in your quest."

Matthew was overwhelmed, Arthur actually translated it, they had a destination. The Englishman had solved the problem which they had for over a month, in less than five minutes. He didn't just translate the foreign writing, he actually solved the riddle and explained it so casually, as if he had no idea at what such a great accomplishment he had done. Well to Matthew it was a great.

"..."

"You alright lad, you have been staring into space for a couple of minutes now? Er, do you a drink or something else along those lines, sit down?"

Arthur asked, lifting up the hatch so that he could make a dash to the Canadian if he needed to. The teen just nodded dumbly, not knowing how to react, this was more that what he ever expected.

Seeing that the boy had sort of short circuited, Arthur felt that he had to take control of the situation. Glancing to the shop front, Arthur could see that there was no one currently out, and that it was nearing the end of the day, there would be no harm in shutting up early then.

Acting before he could change his mind, Arthur flicked a switch under the counter which locked up the shop. Once the door had been locked, Arthur gingerly led the boy behind the counter and up the stairs.

It was only when he was handed a mug of tea, did Matthew finally come too. Snapping out of his state of shock, the Canadian felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. The blush only deepened when he found himself sitting across a pair of intense green eyes.

They were currently sitting at an island in the centre of a fairly modern looking kitchen. It was a simple kitchen that was kept in a near immaculate condition yet still had an homey feel to it.

Sitting in the middle of the island was a bowl of fruit that actually looked fresh, as if it was grown and not something that was created by science like most food now a days. It was the same with most things in the room actually.

Now a days, most things were created through science, things being genetically altered. Due to the magic of the land almost running out, nature almost ceased to be. This is why most other creatures hated humans, as they were the main cause to the worlds current predicament.

Despite all the hardships that the human way of life had caused the planet, that way of life still strived. Most things were electric, and connected to the internet.

Hardly anything was natural besides the bits of land that had protection and therefore couldn't be touched. Yet some how this house was. It was like the simple family homes that people once lived in before the Earth grew weak.

Matthew found himself staring again, this was all so unexpected. He quickly pulled himself out of it however, as he didn't want to embarrass himself again.

"Sorry Mr Arthur sir, I was just so shocked that you were able to translate it and solve the riddle. You have done so much for us, thank you so much."

Yet again, Arthur's face turned a shade of red. He started to become flustered but tried to hide it by drinking his tea.

Feeling guilty to have caused the man to become flustered yet again, Matthew tried to change the subject.

"Er, what language was it written in any way, its not one that I recognise, eh?"

Thankful at the topic change, Arthur managed eye contact with the other. Although his cheeks were still tinged, he didn't feel as awkward as earlier.

"Elven. I would be surprised if you did recognise it."

"Y-you know Elven?"

"Er..." the Englishman froze, not really knowing how to answer to that. Of course the teenager would question it, hardly anyone knew the language, even when humans were on good terms with the Elves.

"I was taught it when I was a young lad, my family has always been influenced by magic. The Kirkland's used to be known for their relationships with creatures of the magic kind, we have traditions."

Arthur explained rather awkwardly, he always felt uncomfortable when talking about his family. It was true what he said though, mostly.

He did learn how to speak Elven when he was a child, the same time he actually learnt how to talk. Due to him being a Shift and being able to take any form, he could also speak any language.

All languages came naturally to him, as he had the potential to become anyone who understood that language. It is also probably why he managed to maintain his accent despite being out the country and why he could understand Gilbert easily when in Germany. He was the person that taught Gilbert and his family English.

"Oh, I did hear that name somewhere on our travels. It wasn't much though, just the name in passing." The Canadian explained, seeing the other man was feeling uncomfortable and didn't want to push his luck.

Yes, he was slightly suspicious of this man, but at the name Kirkland, it all seemed to make a lot more sense. In his line of work, the Kirkland's were very well had never heard of an Arthur Kirkland, but then again the family was secretive.

Still, he didn't want to push the Englishman as he was being so hospitable. He may have a deep secret, but as long as it didn't cause any harm to Matthew or his brother, the Canadian wasn't going to think much of it.

This man had invited him into his home and been nothing but kind, he deserved some privacy. That didn't mean that he had to trust him fully though, something about this man told him that he should be on guard.

"Really? Well that's not that surprising, do you know if they are doing well?" It sort of pained Matthew hearing the slightly hopeful tone in the Englishman's voice. This man seemed guarded about his family, but still wanted to be a part of it. He appeared to be a bit lonely.

"I'm sorry, I only heard the name Alistair, but the person was speaking highly of him." Matthew couldn't help but throw him a bone, and felt pleased at his decision when relief washed over the others face.

"Would you like anything to eat, Gilbert has forbidden me from cooking meals, but I can bake?"

Arthur backed away from the counter, his mug of tea now empty. Stepping backwards, the Englishman made sure he kept eye contact as he spoke to his guest.

Matthew watched, mildly impressed with how the Brit could maneuver backwards, placing his cup in the sink and opening a cupboard. He didn't fail to miss the change of subject, but then he didn't need to find out anything about this man, so why should he care?

"I don't need anything, but may I have one of these fruits please? Why are you not allowed to cook eh?"

"Help yourself, they are there to be eaten after all. If I wanted them there for decoration, I would have got them crappy fake fruit that everyone eats.

"Gilbert won't let me cook, as the first time I tried to cook anything other than treats, I gave him food poisoning. Don't see how I am meant to improve if I can't try again though. He cooks mainly, but we usually get invited else where to eat anyway, Lovino's is probably the one we visit most.

"Are you staying anywhere while you are here, or are you staying on your ship? Lizzie's is a lovely quaint place to stay, Gilbert's brother is staying there for a moment as he has taken a year out, sort of. Offered him to stay here, but Lizzie insisted that we should have our own space and Ludwig should have privacy as well. Not quite sure as to why, we did grow up with each other, but one does not question that woman."

The Englishman rambled on as he took out multiple things out of the cupboards and started to make a cake. His actions automatic, as if he didn't actually realise that he was making a cake, sort of like a puppet. Still his eyes never left Matthew's face, he was talking to him after all and didn't want to be rude.

"We are staying in the ship, it is kind of like a portable home. Feels kind of odd being on land really. Do you like the sea, eh?"

The Englishman's eyes held a form of fondness at the question, pausing for a moment in making the cake. "Yes, I like to say that I do. We travelled by sea over here, and I rather enjoyed the freedom of it."

This caught Matthew's attention, not many people would describe the sea as a form of freedom. He agreed with the man, but it was rare to find others with the same beliefs.

"You don't think that it is dangerous, eh?" He asked casually, trying not to come across as too excited. He lent on the islands counter top and reached out for an apple, hopping it from hand to hand.

"Hmm? Dangerous? Yes, well I suppose that it is, but most things are now a days aren't they? There were a few hiccups along the way, but as you can see, nothing that caused much harm."

Gilbert and Arthur had used a small boat to reach Canada. It had a bed, bathroom facilities and a place to cook, but that was it. Of course the main reason as to why they ran into hardly any trouble was Arthur. The Shift would change into a creature that was big enough to tow the boat, cutting their journey time considerably, and could fight off anything that could be seen as a threat.

So he didn't find it dangerous and neither did Gilbert, Arthur was probably the most dangerous thing the pair would ever come across anyway.

Matthew nodded his head in agreement and bit into the apple, his eyes widening in the difference in taste. It was wonderful, making it such a shame that fresh fruit were so hard to come by. Wanting to play it cool though, the Canadian continued to eat the fruit and converse with the other.

By the time that the Victoria sponge cake was done and Arthur had given Matthew two slices for both him and his brother, Matthew thought that it was probably best to go. He decided that he should stop by the restaurant on the way to the ship, to apologise and both thank the owner, as Arthur told him that he didn't need to worry about getting Gilbert for him.

Once Arthur was sure that the Canadian wasn't going to come back, the Shift headed back up the stairs and opened the kitchen window a fraction. In a blink of an eye, the blonde changed into a little yellow bird, and darted out of the window.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gilbert was busy working away at the damaged cruiser, too excited on working such a ship to report back to Arthur after assessing the damage. Alfred chatted quite happily to the albino, content in watching him work but longed to join in. It just looked so appealing to him.

Gilbert didn't mind, he was too happy on working on such a n advanced ship to care. Everything was of the finest quality, the metal was light but extremely strong, a pleasure to work with. It was a medium sized vessel, but one big enough to carry large load. What it was meant to carry, Gilbert honestly didn't care. He could have worked on this ship through the whole night, that was until he was interrupted.

At the sound of the high pitched chirp, the Albino sighed and put his tools back on his belt. (they just look like little blocks until you press a button and they open up) The American stopped the chatting when the German suddenly stopped, confusion shown on his face.

"Why'd ya stop?" Alfred carefully watched the albino as he got up and took off his gloves looking mildly disappointed. The confusion that the American felt only grew when Gilbert held out his finger and a bird landed on it.

"Time for me to go back, mein birdie has summoned my awesomeness."

"The British dude sent a bird to get you? That is so weird."

"Hey, how else is he meant to fetch the awesome me if I don't have my COM? Gotta go anyway, see you later, I don't want to keep mein bruder waiting."

Before the American could say anything, the albino waltz to the side on the boat and jumped of the railing. Alfred made a mad dash forward thinking that the man had just jumped to his death, only to be surprisingly pleased to find him casually walking away from the docks.

"Shock absorbers in mein boots!" Gilbert yelled back to the teen, sniggering as he walked away.

Arthur had given Gilbert a light peck on his shoulder as a form of scolding, having now perched there. This only succeeded in making the other laugh more.

"Hey, it was fun. You know how much we like to wind up newcomers?"

"True, but must you do it in such a fashion" the bird chirped, taking off from Gilbert's shoulder, flying backwards. The albino laughed a bit harder, always finding it funny when the Englishman's voice coming out of something really small or large.

Rolling his eyes at his friends response, the bird scanned the area. Seeing that the streets were empty and that no one could see him, he quickly changed into his human form.

"You seemed to be enjoying yourself when I came, how long do you think this will take you?"

The Englishman automatically fell into step besides his friend, a small shiver ran down his spine when the wind made contact with his skin, now missing his feathers. He gave the German a weary glance, wondering how he wasn't affected by the cold, but then he usually never was. He did enjoy warmth, but if there was none available, he didn't activity go out seeking it.

Gilbert walked cheerfully by the Shift, finding easier to talk to him when he wasn't a bird. He shoved his hands into his pockets and playfully bumped into Arthur when he saw the other shiver.

"Want a hug birdie, you look cold? You think that you would be the one that doesn't feel the cold, able to change things about your body and everything, not the awesome me."

"Well I couldn't have all the oddities', I need to share don't I?"

"Cause the red eyes and white hair wasn't enough?"

"Hey, I can change into spirit Gilbert, something that doesn't actually have a solid form."

"Fine you win. It won't take me long to do, the ship is pretty sturdy, so there isn't that much damage. I also enjoy working on that kind of ship as its rare to find something of that quality, so I will want to work and will work quickly. A day or two.

"You coming to dinner as well, I know that it was really just for those who helped restore the building that nearly got burnt down, but you were the one that actually saved most of it? I know only the usual know, but you can always go as one of the dogs that Luddy is training, Lovino doesn't kick those dogs out."

The German didn't really like the thought of leaving his friend behind, when he really should be there. It also wasn't the fact that it meant that Arthur would have to get something else to eat, which could lead to him attempting to cook.

He also knew that Ludwig wanted to see more of the Shift, no matter what form. Everytime the German had tried to speak to him, he would either get pulled away for his job, or Arthur had to do something.

Even though Ludwig was mainly visiting, he was also currently on a placement program that was teaching him how forces worked in other countries. It wasn't that surprising how many times he would suddenly get called away as a police dog was needed to assist something. He did want to ask Arthur to accompany him on a job as a dog, but felt embarrassed in asking and felt guilty for the actual dogs that needed to go to be trained.

"I can't Duckie, most of the police force are going to that dinner, so I am accompanying Mathias on patrol."

"Ja, I know. Thought I'd check. Mein gott, that means no one will be at home to clean up that mess. I can't leave the house like that for that long. It's killing me know just thinking about it."

"The house hasn't been properly organised to your standards for nearly two weeks though?" The blonde teased, knowing the response he was going to get.

"It is an organised mess, which I can handle. Right now it isn't because everything fell on top of each other when I was finishing up tidying."

"Yeah I know, want me to get us back home faster?"

"Vampire?"

"I wasn't thinking Vampire, but I suppose that will do." The Englishman smirked as his canines elongated. In one swift movement, he picked up the albino, bridal style, which the albino responded by pretending to faint dramatically, and raced back home, looking like nothing but a blur.

Once home, Arthur set down his 'victim' and changed into a vampire bat and flew through the open window. The German had to only wait a few seconds before the front door was opened by normal Arthur. "Lets clean up this mess then before we set off."

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**There you go.**

**I vaguely know where this story is going but not that much. I usually talk stories through with Rosey.**

**Has anyone seen the semi official designs of the UK bros yet. I squealed. It was drawn by Hima but he hasn't actually stated who is who.**

**Anyway, thank for reading and review and stuff if you want.**


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